Campaigns, interest groups, individuals
and news organizations all flocked to run ads in New Hampshire's largest
newspaper, the Manchester Union Leader, in advance of the Feb. 1,
2000 presidential primary. Newspapers are only one part of the media mix,
and as can be seen below, some campaigns used this medium more than others.
Many campaign professionals believe that television is more effective and
essential to a credible campaign; given limited resources this may be one
reason why some of the campaigns opted not to advertise in the Union
Leader. The paper also has a conservative reputation which may
have deterred others. Print, being more affordable, does allows obscure
candidates and causes to advertise. An eclectic mix of individuals
and entities took advantage of small ads to express their views.1
Advertisers with more resources used print ads to reinforce broadcast ad
campaigns. Finally, in addition to focusing on issues and positions,
newspaper ads are an effective way to promote upcoming events or programs.Compare:Iowa
Print

The American Cancer Society had the most frequently
run ad, a half-page ad which appeared eight times.

Note.1. The distinction between
"individuals" and "groups" proved to be the most difficult coding decision
as some examples will illustrate. A full page ad on Jan. 31 by Dennis
Lynch, chair of the Catholic Alliance, notes that it is paid for by him
personally but has the organization's web site address. (Coded as
individual). On Jan. 29 something called the "Pro Tem Committee for
Decency in Government" ran a small ad condemning several of the candidates
for promoting policies that encourage homosexual conduct. (Coded
as individual). Finally, Foundation for Accuracy/Paul C. Fisher ran a rather
philosophical ad a couple of times. (Coded as individual).
For the purposes of this study, "group" means that an established, known
organization has paid for the ad.

Week
0: Wednesday Jan. 26 to Tuesday Feb. 1, 2000For the final seven days
of the campaign a total of fifty-seven primary-related ads were found in
the Union Leader. The number of ads peaked at fifteen on Jan. 31,
the day before the primary. Eighteen of the fifty-seven ads were
full page, including six Forbes ads, three Keyes ads and four ads for voter.com.
Fourteen of the fifty-seven ads were smaller than a quarter page; mostly
ads by individuals, a minor candidate, and promos.Candidate: Four candidates
ran a total of twenty-four ads (42% of the total): 10 Keyes (3 full-page
ads, 2 half-page ads and 5 quarter-page ads promoting a rally); 7 Forbes (6 full-page
ads and one small promo ad); 2 Bush (half-page
ads); 5 O'Donnell [Edward
T. O'Donnell, Jr. of Wilmington, DE, a pro-life Dem. candidate] (smaller
ads). Group: Eight groups
ran a total of thirteen ads (23% of the total): AARP/VOTE (1); American
Cancer Society (4); American Medical Association (1); The Concord Coalition
(1); The Institute for SocioEconomic Studies (1); The Interfaith Alliance
(1); National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) New Hampshire (3); Save
America's Forests (1).Media: Five news
organizations ran a total of eight ads (14% of the total):C-SPAN (1); Lifetime: Television
for Women (1); voter.com (4 full-page ads); WGIR (1); WNDS (1).Individual: Seven
individuals ran a total of nine ads (16% of the total):Sandra Abels, Founder U.S.
Citizens Against Whaling--against Gore (1); Bill Cashin--for Gore (1);
Paul C. Fisher/Foundation for Accuracy--philosophical musings (2); Dennis
Lynch (Catholic Alliance)--for Forbes (1); Dan O'Neil--for Gore (2); Pro
Tem Committee for Decency in Government--against several (1); Robert G.
Yarnall, Sr--for Forbes (1).Misc: General Mills
placed three quarter-page ads to promote its"Flippin' for the Candidates"
event.

By comparision, the second
biggest New Hampshire paper, the Nashua Telegraph, had only eleven
ads during the same time, of which only two were candidate ads. In
the Concord Monitor, three ads were found that did not appear in
the Union Leader: a full-page ad on Jan. 31 by Americans with Disabilities
for Gore/New Hampshire Citizens for Gore, a quarter page ad on Jan. 30
by McCain promoting a Jan. 31 rally in Concord and a small ad on Jan. 27
promoting a Media Studies Center event.